Knights of Valharra (TV series)
'Knights of Valharra '''is an American fantasy drama television series created by Mathew Adamson. Directed by Adamson and Rachael Howitz, the highly anticipated series debuted on HBO on August 20, 2016. The series is the second on HBO to be set in the Ancient Middle East, after Rowan Willard's ''Sinbad of the Seven Seas. '' The series became one of the rare firsts to have attracted dozens of fans, even before its premiere, through the release of a single poster, on February 24, 2016. Premise The story revolves around Gulzar Alwalid, a young biracial peasant girl, living in the ancient Emirati village of Al Fahidi with her fortune-teller mother. Although even in that ancient era, all human races were equally honored and respected throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. Despite that, there was no toleration for people born of a combination of two or more races. Being looked down upon and ridiculed throughout her whole life, Gulzar struggled quite a lot with human beings. When forced to leave her mother due to their financial problems, Gulzar travels in search of a job. When she stumbles upon the sultanate of Valharra, she develops an immediate liking towards the Sultan's Knights, and dreams of becoming a Knight one day. Alas, who had ever heard of a biracial lady's maid, becoming a knight? Cast People originating from the village of Al Fahidi *Maddie Zuarich as Gulzar Alwalid, main protagonist of the series. *Braeme Willis as Reman Alwalid, the deceased father of Gulzar. *Elaina al-Bukhari as Rusha Alfalah, a middle-aged fortune-teller and enchantress, and the mother of Gulzar. *Naeel Said as Harran Wasik, a young fisherman who is also Gulzar's childhood best friend. *Zakariya Afyan as Abu Talib, a kindly elderly merchant and souk owner, and the father of Harran. Members of the Abdulaziz Royal Family *Minhaz al-Islam as Yahya I, Sultan of the sultanate of Valharra. *Letizia Mirovna as Yusra, Crown Princess of Valharra, being the younger sister of the Sultan and thus, heir apparent to the throne. *Laila Habib as Sultana Aaliyah, Queen Consort of Valharra, being the wife of the Sultan. *Isabella Hadid as Yalda, Princess of Valharra and the eldest child of the Sultan and Sultana. *Maaher Wazid as Yakub, Prince of Valharra and the only son of Sultan Yahya and Sultana Aaliyah. *Zaynab Al Zayad as Lianna, Princess of Valharra and the youngest child of the Sultan and Sultana. Aide-de-camp *Etti Morisette Lasheen as Lumana Khafri, the Sultan's chief military adviser, organiser and retired Lieutenant-General. *Lewis Warqa as Bayazid Al-Maliki, the Sultan's secondary military adviser and eldest child of Sultana Aaliyah, from a previous relationship. *Khalid Jibraz as the Major General Firoz Khirau who is also Commander-in-chief for the Sultan's army. *Ilyas Qadri as Fardan Faruq, the Sultan's two-faced secretary and political adviser. Royal Servantry Lady's Maids *Stella Costa as Rahella Vaneet *Rihab Sital as Hana Laila *Qamar bint Kassem as Ruqiua Halfath The Sultan's Knights *Saamir ibn Rima as Hammad Roumani, the leader of the Knights. *Ayla Mirza Shayk as Nyla Razzak, one of the female knights *Giovan Goodman as Qadeer Lateef, one of the male knights. *Anoushka Awwal as Ghaliba Harsha, one of the female knights. Production Development After directing two films and producing one more for his ''Legends Untold franchise, Mathew Adamson set out to develop his second fictional story for his directorial debut on the small screen. While Adamson's version of the script solely focused and elaborated on Gulzar's and ordinary people's lives, Jordanian screenwriter and producer, Rym Taqash offered a more in-depth look into the lives of the royals of Valharra. Their combined script was originally destined for a full-length film, but renowned American director Fransisco Alasdhair suggested that a television series might prove to be more successful. In December 2015, American actress and director, Rachael Howitz was chosen as assistant director, after her outstanding work on ABC television series, Serpensora. Filming Filming was set to begin in January 2016, but was postponed until July that year, after Adamson's daughter fully recovered from her illness. Filming officially began on 26th July, 2016. Initial desert scenes were shot in the Sahara, whereas the later ones were reserved for the Al Khatim desert in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Scenes depicting the Al Fahidi village, were shot in Rimal village in Kuwait, and later parts were shot on sets in Palm Springs, California, US. Casting Casting was done by Spanish-American producer, Lula Zarquez, who also served as one of the executive producers. Most of the casting was done through auditions and readings, with the exception of Maddie Zuarich, Minhaz al-Islam and Braeme Willis, who were personally chosen by the directors. Costuming LaJune Theova and Adnan al-Tiyami served as costume designers for the series. The costumes were inspired by traditional Arab, Persian and Turkish attire. Premiere Marketing The theatrial poster for Knights of Valharra ''was released by HBO on February 24, 2016. It was the same poster that drew hundreds of fans, awaiting the series. The first teaser trailer was shown on HBO on August 1, 2016, partly as compensation for the delay in the original air date. Rating The Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) film rating system gave ''Knights of Valharra an R rating, due to scenes of intense violence, blood, gore and mature themes. The series was originally set to have a PG-13 rating, but instead earned an R, since later themes being revealed. Reception General Even though it was given an R rating, more than 30% of the viewers for Knights of Valharra were between the age range of 14-18 years. Majority of viewers were between the ages of 19-30 years. Critical responses Accolades Trivia *''Knights of Valharra'' became the second HBO series to begin airing directly from the first episode, since a pilot had never been shot. Category:TV Series